Day 9: Day of the Dead Pumpkin

2026-02-15

This article has a major correction; there's doubt that this pumpkin has anything to do with Day of the Dead.

Hello!

I went to a small-town Main Street and took some photos while I was there. I saw historic statues and found great artifacts of the past, with lots of deep and interesting nuance. The photos I took represent much larger stories of this country's history.

This isn't one of them. Have a cool pumpkin instead!

Walking down the main street, I was looking at eye level and nearly passed by this pumpkin sitting on the floor right in front of a store or business (can't remember which one). I know nothing about ink and paint — I've only ever owned one paint marker, and it was the wrong color — so I'll let any readers decipher how this was made.

The silver bead attached to a painted tooth on the pumpkin, complete with a glint or shine in a matching silver, is just so clever. I wonder if this looked any different when it was fresh and new. Given that Day of the Dead was in November, the pumpkin is a few months old; I can't think of any particular reason why someone would make a fresh pumpkin off-season. Unless this isn't about Day of the Dead and I'm just completely wrong. If that's the case, contact me!

Update 2026-02-15: That aged poorly. A correction is posted.

Finally, a music recommendation. I learned to play Dr. Sunshine is Dead by Will Wood in the fall of 2025, and I still remember parts of it months later (which is probably not supposed to be that surprising). But it's a really difficult song to practice, at least on guitar. They just throw in a 5/4 section in the middle of an already ludicrously fast song. If you don't know music theory, I seem very insane. Which fits the song, probably.

Thank you for visiting this blog! Special thanks to the newsletter subscribers; you get this photo a week before the internet does :-).

Cheers,
David